Date: Sun, 13 Oct 2013 12:54:02 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Organization: Cosmic Reminders
Subject: Re: Coolant expire date
In-Reply-To: <20131013153538.0XJZX.21448.imail@eastrmwml213>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
Thanks for posting that link.
on their FAQ's the address shelf life at the top of the list.
noteworthy ..in the next FAQ the talk about the need for phosphate free
a-frz.And ..they say with Eruopean water ..yes..
withour less hard water ...phosphate-free is not that important or even
needed.
People that are concerned about that can use distilled water .
Personally, I never have ..
I've used mainly good a-frzin a 50-50 mix with tap water. And probably
in as many at 5,000, or more, cars over the years, and vanagons.
Lately ....noticiing what it says on a bottle of Water Wetter ...
I see that a weaker coolant mixture than 50-50 removes heat better
...and since 50-50 protects agaisnt freezing to 32 below zero F ...most
of us don't need that much protection against freezing.
I probably us 40 % coolant, the rest good clean tap water (West coast )
with water wetter added.
and make sure the thing runs up to temp !
If the temp gauge does not get up to the middle ....get a good new
german thermostat in there.
generally I regard Prestone Extended Life a-frz as one of the better ones.
I have never found a reason to use the VW Blue, and very expensive, stuff..
and it's not even blue anymore if you ask for some at a VW dealer. They
sell a reddish 'mixes with anything ' coolant now I believe ..
and they charge a lot for it too.
As always ..I think Regular Care and Attention ..
and keeping things working right is far, far more important than the
actual brand or type of products used.
It's not weakness of product used, oil , coolant or whateverthat is
the real issue ..it's plain old abuse and neglect and poor workmanship
that's the real issue in almost all cases.
And in 25+ year old vanagons ..you never get all the old coolant out
anyway ..
so even once a year is not too often to change the coolant. It does
deteriorte ...like most things do.
scott
On 10/13/2013 12:35 PM, Dave Mcneely wrote:
> ---- Alain Thibault <alainthibault@TELUS.NET> wrote:
>> Crazy question...i have a brand new gallon (4liters) of never used coolant but it is about 12 years old. Is it still good to use?
>>
>> Sent from my iPad 2
> Here is one manufacturer's answer:
>
> http://prestone.com/learn_more/frequently_asked_questions#faq-row-465
>
> I don't know if I would take all I see here for the gospel, but at least for Prestone coolant, I think you are safe. Others may have different chemical additives, so you might want to check with them.
>
> --
> David McNeely
>